Joseph Meehan wrote:
cp wrote:

Currently have 3.5 and 2 ton Carrier units. Both are 11 years old.
3.5 ton is shot. 2 ton is close. Coils look ok.

Plan on staying in the house for at least 5-7 more years.

Four questions:

1) Trane or Carrier........... leaning toward Trane

2) It was recommended that I replace a Carrier coils that are 11
years old to match the new outside Trane units (how long do the A/C
coils typically last) and the coil lifetime is not that much longer
than the outside units

3) Is this a good price for a Trane 12 Seer XR12

4 Ton Unit
4 Ton Replacement Coil (high efficiency)
2 Ton Unit
2.5 Ton Replacement Coil (high efficiency)

$5,900 installed if buy same time or $3,500 and $3,000 for 3.5
and 2 ton separately

4) Trane offers a 5 or 10 year extended warranty that can cover
parts or labor or both parts and labor transferable. Is this
advisable?


Thanks


Wrong questions. The first question is how to find a good tech. Then
let them help you with your many options. Hopefully after inspecting on
site and maybe doing some calculations to verify the size needed, they may
make several different suggestions, some you did not think of. They can
give you much better recommendations than we can from here. Get more than
one bid and don't assume the lowest bid is the best.

Choice of make and model is the last part of the process. Let your tech
help you with that choice. In the end, the difference between a good tech
and a poor one is far greater than the difference between a good brand and a
bad one. Of course a good tech will not sell you a poor make.


How do you find a "good" tech? What should you be looking for when
evaluating a company?

We are in the market for a new heat pump, and have had 6 different
companies provide quotes. Its almost overwhelming trying to determine
who is providing the "right" information. As you can probably surmise,
the quotes all have different recommendations (ie, one thinks that the
return needs to be moved inside the house, another thinks everything is
fine and just replace the existing unit, another thinks we need a bigger
unit etc).

Cathy